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Joshua and Courtney - Hip Hop - I loved the intro package - Courtney has an infectiously loveable personality - however, I was pretty "meh" on the routine. Joshua was good, but not nearly as GREAT as he has been, including on his hip hop with Katee. Oh, and I hate his hair and the ponytail made it that much worse. Courtney DID perform the character well, but the dancing was REALLY weak, especially when contrasted with her earlier hip hop. It was pretty good, but I want and expect so much more!

Chelsie - Solo - I get bored by solos by ballroom experts. There just isn't the same variety to the movements, at least solo, as you get with other styles. She pulled it off well, but it wasn't a "wow" moment by any means.

Mark and Kherington - Two-Step - This partnership is NOT working and it's pretty clear that it's Kherington's fault. How many times did he have his hand out and she just wasn't there? I thought she was really, really bad. Also, I will disagree with Lil C. that the character work was there. Kherington was the same old smiley-face that we've seen all along with no new nuance to make it appropriate for this style. Mark was just mellow. I wish that he had attacked this "character" with the same vigor that he's brought to others. I wanted to see the "Yee-Haw!" on his face. Maybe it would have been over-the-top, but it would have given the routine so much more life! He didn't seem to have nearly as much trouble with the dancing as Kherington, but that doesn't mean he doesn't still have to sell it.

Gev - Solo - I loved some parts of this and hated others - particularly the whole opening sequence when he was holding his foot and the ending spin. In the middle, with the split and then the shirt-removal sequence, he was AWESOME.

Twitch and Comfort - Waltz - Pretty weak. From the VERY BEGINNING, Twitch was failing. He couldn't even walk out on stage and hold his arms out to Comfort with the carriage and comportment of a waltzer. He never got the frame right, and the dance suffered because of it. Comfort was okay with the movement, but she didn't bring enough strength or confidence to the performance. This was quite slow in comparison to a lot of the waltzes we've seen, but that doesn't make it easier. Instead, it means that the dancers (Comfort in particular) need to SUSTAAAAAAAAAIN the movements with energy and power. She didn't. Also, her shoulders were hunched throughout so much of the piece. Both have waltzed better with their previous partners. I'm not sure how much can be blamed on their lack of rehearsal time, but this was bleak.

Courtney - Solo - I thought this was really good, and the commitment of her attacks on the movement really sold it. Small note - she needs to finish one phrase before she begins the next. Instead, they bled together as we saw her preparing for the next movement before she had completed the current one.

Will and Katee - Broadway - Watching the rehearsal package, I saw some INCREDIBLE moves flawlessly executed and I thought to myself "This is going to be good". Boy, was I wrong. I think this may be the worst Tyce routine EVAH (and that's saying a lot). The characters were so cheesy and there was no CONTEXT to make them make sense. What is this conservative nerd doing with this dim bimbo? And what was the point of the boat? Some dances (think Neil and Sabra's boardroom routine or Mark and Chelsie's husband leaving routine) created a whole dynamic universe in two minutes. This one did no such thing. And half the time, they weren't even really dancing! They weren't doing much of ANYTHING! Oh, and those great moves from the intro package? None of them were even in the routine. WTF?!?!

Mark - Solo - I could watch this guy all day. His solo was great. I just wish we didn't get the been-there-done-that feel due to the fact he'd already done a "mad" solo to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in Vegas…

Gev and Chelsie - Contemporary - I was underwhelmed by this one, too. Gev just didn't have the technique. He looked like a street dancer gamely trying his best with a dance style and a physical vocabulary he didn't know the FIRST THING ABOUT! I thought the leaps were atrocious, particularly in the context of other leaps we've seen from the real contemporary dancers. Ivan and Dominic really set the bar high by doing AMAZING contemporary routines much earlier in their seasons. Gev didn't come close. On the other hand, I give Gev props for committing to the character and the performance. Chelsie was technically much better, but I didn't buy her performance AT ALL. I felt like she was going through the motions and feeling absolutely nothing. Both of these dancers had much more chemistry from week one with their previous partners. Perhaps it's just not a good match…

Comfort - Solo - Talk about been-there-done-that! I feel like all of her solos are exactly the same. Of course, she's had to do them more than anybody, so perhaps by the fourth or fifth time we see Joshua or Mark or Katie or Chelsie's solos, I'll be saying the same thing. Of course, by doing it so many times, it should be getting better. It's not. I think it's getting worse…

Joshua and Courtney - Rumba - Finally! A dance I loved! My gaydar never picked up anything with Joshua until he gave the "you better work" line in rehearsal… Still, when he dances, he's 100% masculine, and I totally believe the hetero energy. He really was fantastic here, and I love the way he throws his partners around. He is the only guy who truly feels like he is leading out there. And Courtney? Courtney is just sex on a stick. This style is so great for her and she made the partnership sizzle even more than Joshua did when dancing Latin with Katee a few weeks ago.

Twitch - Solo - Twitch connects to music so much better than he does to a partner. His solo work is fantastic, although I didn't enjoy the choreography as much this week as I did last.

Mark and Kherington - Jazz - I was glad that they were so much better in this number than in their first one, and I dug the almost disco-like quality of the movement. I think that Mark WAS bringing something more to the piece in terms of character and style. I'd say he was a 9. Kherington was more like a 7. It was respectable, but dancing next to Mark really showed her shortcomings. Why, though, was Mark dressed in lingerie?

Katee - Solo - I liked her dancing. I hated her Kherington-esque plastered-on smile. Overall, it left me a little cold.

Twitch and Comfort - Hip Hop - At first, I was really liking this. I thought they were very well-matched - precise and clean. Then, about half way through, I lost interest and my mind started to wander. I just don't think there was enough substance to the dance or to their individual charisma or chemistry as a pair to hold my attention. I have no specific negative comments, but in the end, it just didn't do it for me.

Will - Solo - This week's choreography was much less technically challenging than his previous solos. I get that he was going for more of an emotional performance. Still, because he doesn't engage me as a person that much, I didn't feel the emotion I was supposed to be feeling.

Will and Katee - Pas de Deux- I was SOOOO disappointed in this routine (and truly saddened by my disappointment). Last week, we saw the introduction of a new style with "Bollywood", and what we got was a 100% immersion in the style. It was a rousing success. I was so excited to see the same done with ballet, featuring two dancers I trusted to have the technique to pull it off. What we got was not ballet. Not by a long shot. There is a big difference between the physical vocabularies of ballet and contemporary dance. Ballet requires rigidity. It demands extension and elevation and precision. With contemporary, we break the form. With this routine, it was at least 80% contemporary with a slight flavor of ballet. To me, under these circumstances, that REALLY SUCKS. I don't WANT to see broken form and all of those "wiggly" moves in a ballet routine! Katee came much closer to ballet dance, and for that reason, was more successful to me. Will showed very little difference here from his many contemporary performances. I struggle because as much as I wanted to see something different, I have to remember that the dancers were executing the choreography they were given. The blame rests with Desmond and his partner. Therefore, I'm very grateful for their not-nearly-as-minor-as-Nigel-intimated faux pas (not to be confused with pas de deux). For that screw up, at least, I can blame the dancers.

Kherington - Solo - I thought this was pretty good. For Kherington, at least. She was sassier and had more attitude than usual. From both of her partner dances, I suspected she had given up and was ready to go home. This solo suggested otherwise.

Gev and Chelsie - Jive - I will agree with the judges that Chelsie KILLED this routine. This was the best I've ever seen her. The surprise to me, though, was how well Gev kept up. He was better than okay, here, and for him to even be in the same ballpark as Chelsie's home-run performance is astonishing. I think the judges didn't give him NEARLY as much credit as he deserved, considering how easy they have been on some lesser performances…

Joshua - Solo - I hate it when the judges use this term, but that was SICK. He melded technique, performance, personality, and NATURALNESS better than anybody else. Talk about being born to do this!


My Rankings (pair dances only):
1. Joshua and Courtney - Rumba
2. Gev and Chelsie - Jive
3. Mark and Kherington - Jazz
4. Twitch and Comfort - Hip Hop
5. Joshua and Courtney - Hip Hop
6. Will and Katee - Pas de Deux
7. Gev and Chelsie - Contemporary
8. Will and Katee - Broadway
9. Mark and Kherington - Two Step
10. Twitch and Comfort - Waltz

I thought the top five dances were good and the bottom five were bad (the bottom three were atrocious). Looking at my rankings cumulatively, I guess I thought Will and Katee were the worst of the night in that they had two bad dances. However, in all fairness, they struck out in the choreography department, getting two dances that I consider to be pretty damned shitty!

I expect that either Kherington or Comfort will go home for the girls (probably Kherington) and that's okay. I honestly have NO IDEA who will go home for the guys. I wouldn't be shocked with ANY result. That being said, I sure do hope it's not Josh!